Field of the Invention
This invention is to new compositions of matter which it has not previously been possible to make and to a process for making them. The compositions, which are copolymers of quaternary ammonium carboxylates, are conductive and surface active and are useful in preventing charge or static generation on the surface of synthetic polymers.
There is a need in several technologies for a composition which will be conductive and thus prevent the generation of static charges on surfaces. These include: plastic flooring material as used in operating rooms; nylon, polyester, and poly-acrylonitrile fibers in which static charges cause problems in their production as well as discomfort when they are worn; polyethylene bottles and film which may pick up dirt after being rubbed; polystyrene which suffers from the same problem, as does also polyvinyl chloride and its copolymers.
Many antistatic agents have been proposed and are used to prevent static build-up on synthetic fabrics when they are washed and then dried in a home automatic hot air dryer. There is particular difficulty in doing this with a substance which can be added to a detergent or added to a washing machine while clothes are being washed.
Various attempts have been made to provide compositions which are effective laundry softeners and antistatic agents when added to the laundry wash cycle. For the most part they have relied on quaternary ammonium chlorides, methosulfates, modified in various ways to minimize the interaction between the quaternary ammonium salts and anionic components of the detergent. Thus Baskerville (U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537) has mixed quaternary ammonium chlorides or sulfates with insoluble organic materials with a defined melting range and formed the mixture into prills with a specific range of size. McDanald (U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,841) has added water soluble agglomerating agents to the compositions of Baskerville as an improvement in their physical form which also improved their performance. Draper (U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,970) has replaced the organic agglomerating agent of McDanald with "anionic complexing agents" which may be organic or inorganic water soluble salts. The effectiveness of these compositions depends on the ability of the dispersion inhibitors, salts, agglomerating agents, and complexing agents to adequately maintain a physical separation between the quaternary ammonium sulfate or chloride and the other components of the detergent. Thus if the physical integrity of the softener particles is lost because of mechanical crushing or excessive heat in the wash cycle the quaternary ammonium salt can interact with anionic surfactants in the detergent with the subsequent loss of detergency, softening, and antistatic activity. It is thus a further object of our invention to provide an antistatic agent which is of uniform composition, does not depend on an artfully built up physical structure for its effectiveness, and which does not rely on the traditional quaternary ammonium sulfates or chlorides (or other halides) to provide antistatic activity.